Driverless cars, flying taxis, futuristic capsules gliding over the city — these are not fantastic stories from children's books. Today, Dubai stands as a prime example of how rapidly progress is growing. This is particularly evident in the transportation system. All the plans to enhance transportation focus on three key goals: reducing traffic, lowering the number of accidents, and supporting the environment. So, what can we expect in the next few years? Let us take a closer look!

Last week, everyone was talking about Elon Musk's grand presentation, where he unveiled his futuristic vehicles: the two-seater Cybercab, which features no steering wheel or pedals, and the Robovan, designed to accommodate 20 passengers.

Mass production of these vehicles is scheduled for 2027. However, many media outlets caution against pinning hopes on a specific date, as Musk sometimes tends to be too optimistic in forecasting when it comes to timelines. Such an initiative aims to reduce the number of accidents on the roads. The media quotes Musk,  who mentions “autonomous vehicles would become 10 times safer than humans” (no one ever mentions, though, how these calculations are made). 

Anyway, the cars truly look fantastic and remind us that progress is ever-moving. I even thought they were exact copies of the vehicles from the “Back to the Future” movie, but when I googled it to double-check my theory, it turned out they looked entirely different. There it is — the Mandela effect in action.

The UAE has never lagged behind in the speed of progress compared to other countries, so let us take a look at what the future of transportation holds for Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Electric vehicles are not just the future — they are already here. The most popular example is Tesla, which operates on electric energy — meaning no fuel is needed. 

The UAE has set ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions by 2030, and electric vehicles are playing a great role in this transition. The government actively promotes various initiatives for electric vehicles, both directly and indirectly (for example, by establishing new charging spots in different areas of the cities). There is even a virtual map available online that shows the nearest charging stations for electric vehicles and the number of free spots there. 

According to official statistics, the number of electric vehicles sold in the UAE starting from 2020 has increased thirteenfold and is expected to continue growing.

Autonomous vehicles are the next big step toward the future of transportation. They are designed to move without any driver involvement, due to artificial intelligence, sensors, cameras, and GPS.

According to the UAE government plans, by 2030, 25% of all trips in Dubai will be made using self-driving vehicles. The initiative to shift to a self-driving system began back in 2017 and consists of two key areas:

The government’s actions show they have quite serious intentions in shifting towards autonomous cars — in 2023, the UAE passed its first piece of legislation covering all aspects of autonomous vehicles — from licensing to liability frameworks.

Urban-Mass Company’s project in Dubai focuses on introducing the Floc Duo rail — a dual-track elevated system designed to carry small electric capsules. This system is promised to be fully automated and aims to reduce traffic and improve environmental sustainability.

RAIL BUS is a quite similar initiative. In their demo video, they also show an enlarged capsule moving on the elevated rails (it really resembles a futuristic train car). The key difference here is that it runs on solar energy. This system is also supposed to be automotive, but some media share that UAE Government plans to launch pilot models for the approbation period first. Will see!

It might feel like an alternate reality, but the news about flying taxis is not just tabloid gossip — it is officially confirmed by Dubai’s RTA, with the launch planned for the first half of 2026.

So far, we know that four takeoff and landing points are planned across the city: Dubai Marina, Jumeirah, Downtown Dubai, and the international airport. This setup is aimed at reducing traffic congestion near the airport and providing an alternative transport link to one of the busiest spots in the city. People will be able to order a flying taxi using the special application, created by Joby Aviation — just as easy as ordering pizza.  

By the way, all above mentioned government transport initiatives aim to support and protect the environment — and flying taxis are no exception! These will be electric vehicles, so they will not cause any pollution during flights.

Without a doubt, the list of transportation development projects will expand by one or two more ideas before the end of the year, as the UAE has ambitious plans in this area! The real question is: how the public will react. After all, rapid progress and new technologies often bring about uncertainty, and even fear. But personally, I am already looking forward to the day when I can finally take a flying taxi home from the airport and arrive in just 10 minutes! That is what we call an effective time management!